Construction update

The foundations are finally completed!

The final foundation work was done on the bottom of the ramp that goes to the café and the loading bay ramp (next to Dent St).  You may have understood these to have been completed a few months back however what has remained are the ground beams that link the piles together. These have continued to be installed alongside the first of the walls going up.

The completion of the foundations has been a long and difficult birth.  A few years back we understood that the foundations would only have to go 14m down with driven steel universal columns. But during the fundraising phase, we resolved to get the building consent at the same time. The late and great Greg Guy led this. It was discovered that, due to learnings from the  Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes that the piles needed to be founded on bedrock – 33m down and then socketed into bedrock a further few metres.

This is what is in place now. It is effectively a 10 storey structure in the ground under the HAC.

As you drive down Walton St towards the HAC you will see a gap in the wall being constructed now.  This will be the giant feature window of the building 2 storeys high. In the window will be some of the Ebinger Schnass ceramics